You'd be forgiven if you mistook Aussie-born Amethyst Kelly (a.k.a. Iggy Azalea) for Karmin front-woman Amy Heidemann. They both come from well-to-do backgrounds, shamelessly streamline Nicki Minaj into white-rap culture, fake a "blaccent", and specialize in sharply-tongued hip/hop-pop (it's probably not a coincidence that the two have platinum blonde hair as well). Then when you have song titles like "Fancy", "Goddess", "Lady Patra", and add in lines like "First things first, I'm the realest", it's awfully hard not to associate the two women who constantly feel the need to reassert their musicality and star power. But while they have that in common, what sets them apart is that Azalea is primarily a rapper, not a singer trying to be a rapper like Heidemann, so her flow is more fully formed, and does a much better job at being the white Nicki Minaj. Azalea also picks better collaborators, ones who play on her strengths, instead of showcasing her nagging flaws (ahem Nick Noonan and The Elev3n). Also, as shallow as her backstory may seem, "The New Classic" does a good job of weaving the elements of perseverance and hard work into some hooky hip/hop. You of course have "Fancy", featuring Charli XCX which shines as one of the most fun tracks here, second only to the trappy "New Bitch", one of the few songs on this record set in a major key. Oddly, the middle/back-half of "The New Classic" contains the most upbeat songs, because the beginning of the album doesn't try too hard in the way of grabbing interest. In fact, Azalea sounds more defeated in "Walk the Line" and "Don't Need Ya'll", rather than the triumphant underdog persona that's present in "Work" and "Impossible is Nothing". All four songs ride the same trend of rising above everyone else, but they don't seem to connect with each other in the way that an album should. That same disconnect could be applied to Iggy Azalea in general: a young, pretty model from Australia who dated A$AP Rocky and was mentored by T.I. had to work hard for this rapping career? Of course she left home at 16 to pursue it, but still, the fact that she had the privilege to make that choice at all kind of goes against the whole premise that "The New Classic" is built on.
At face value, the songs are catchy enough to rival Nicki Minaj's pop/rap blends, though aren't as distinctive. Azalea has fun with it all, even when she confronts the issues of love, money, and fame, she delivers it with the same no fucks given swagger that for a moment outshines the two big, interrelated problems here. The first, is that while Azalea would like to be a progressive rap artist like Nicki Minaj or Missy Elliot, there's not a "Super Bass" or "Supa Dupa Fly" on this record, far and away from being 'classic'. The second, is that she can fake the hood look and aesthetic, but it's just not enough to act the part. It's something that you have to be, and Azalea's boasting of diamonds, self-sufficiency, and wealthy men don't exactly evoke the thug life. But maybe she doesn't want to be the next Jay-Z, Kanye, or Eminem; for all of her bling and swagger, she might just want to be steadily on the fringes of rap and pop, pulling elements from both genres so that she can please either audience. Needless to say it doesn't always work, but for better or for worse, "The New Classic" has brought what could be the next generation of rap/pop. We'll see.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Walk the Line 2. Don’t Need Y’all 3. 100
4. Change
Your Life 5. Fancy 6.
New Bitch
7. Work 8. Impossible is Nothing 9.
Goddess
10. Black
Widow 11. Lady Patra 12. Fuck Love
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